Instant messaging has been a prevalent way of communicating and collaborating with peers around the world. Often the challenge exists when an instant messaging (IM) partner is not available on an instant messaging system (such as Lotus Sametime®, AOL instant messenger (AIM), or Yahoo Messenger), or the person may not be available via telephone, cellular telephone, short message service (SMS), email, pager, etc. Situations often arise where employees may need to be contacted immediately, e.g. for a crisis, to inform him or her of an urgent family matter, to prompt an individual to attend a meeting that he or she has accepted but inadvertently neglected attend. If the participant cannot be reached via IM, phone, email, or SMS, inefficiency may result from time lost in either not completing the task at hand on time or rescheduling the meeting to a different time. This is especially the case if the absent person is a primary/mandatory attendee. Likewise, time is wasted by other participants who arrive on time for the meeting or eMeeting.
It would be beneficial to have techniques to prevent or resolve issues related to individuals who may be absent or missing from engagements.